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Long Range Waste Disposal and Recycling Committee

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Committees: Long Range Waste Disposal and Recycling Committee

Mission:

To promote and encourage efficient long-range waste planning with a focus on recycling through the use of communication/education, facilitation, and best practices. 

Communication/Education Goals

• Set benchmarks and goals
• Update body of knowledge
• Update website
• Update flyers
• Create distribution lists
• Involve each of the schools and develop education program
• Involve recreational programs by creating recycling education program for kids involved
• Involve cable television and local media 

Facilitation Goals

• Full recycling throughout the town, including all schools and municipal buildings
• Enforcing recycling and transfer station rules, including resident permits and mandatory recycling
• Develop compost program

Best Practices Goals

• Determine what works for other towns around SWAP areas and implement best practices
• Incorporate recycling and green practices into developments around town - set an example for other towns
• Partner with Hingham League of Women's Voters, ICLE, and DEP
• Analyze commodity contracts
  

2008 Annual Report

The Committee is pleased to report that recycling by Hingham Town residents has increased and thus the amount of trash which the town must pay to have disposed of has decreased over 2008.  For the first time, more than 54% of the waste (by weight) brought to the Transfer and Recycling Station was recycled and 45% was disposed of as household rubbish!  This includes all of the Demolition and Bulky waste taken to the Bourne facility which now sorts and recycles all materials brought there.  In 2008, only 7,017 tons of waste was taken to SEMASS Waste to Energy incineration facility compared to 7, 229 tons in 2007. 

The Transfer and Recycling Station has experienced significant improvements over the year as the new configuration of recycling areas was completed, new signs to better inform residents where each type of material can be recycled were installed, and a map of the recycling areas at the Station was added to the DPW website. 

In the service of continuing to educate and enforce compliance with the Massachusetts and Hingham regulations regarding recycling, a total of 220 citations were issued to residents in 2008 for failing to recycle materials that must be recycled. 

The later part of 2008 brought a marked downturn in the commodities market for recyclable materials.  However, due to contracts already in place with recycling vendors, Hingham enjoys receiving a higher rate per ton for all recycled paper than current market rates and continues to receive some revenue for corrugated cardboard.  Other recyclable materials continue to be picked up and processed for significantly lower rates than the rates for transporting and disposing of waste through the Town’s contract with SEMASS.  Thus, we remind Hingham residents that in this time of fiscal constraint, it remains most cost effective to sort and recycle all mandated materials.  Every ton of waste that is recycled  saves the Town over $100 (the cost of transporting and burning waste), in addition to the energy saved and the reduction of CO2 emissions that occur from recycling materials. 

To update residents on the status of the DEP mandated project to cap the second half of Hingham’s former landfill: The project is still scheduled to begin in 2009.  Hingham’s DPW has made arrangements to move the compostable yard waste and brush/logs area to an adjacent property during the project, thus allowing continued composting during the months of the project.  Note: During the capping project, times for bringing yard waste for composting will temporarily be changed as will the overall configuration of recycling areas at the Transfer station itself.  Look for information on the DPW website and on signs at the Transfer Station.

The Committee explored Pay as You Throw (PAYT) waste disposal systems with consultants from Mass D.E.P.  At this time, Hingham’s recycling rate is high enough that such a system would not likely result in a sufficiently large increase in recycling to offset expenses of such a change.  The Committee opted to continue to educate Hingham residents about the cost issues involved in waste disposal and financial benefits of recycling.

The Hingham Schools continue to steadily increase their recycling rates and types of materials that are being recycled.  All schools now have programs in place to collect for recycling: paper, corrugated cardboard, plastic containers, metal containers, fluorescent tubes and ballasts, and ink and toner cartridges.

DPW helped the Hingham Library get recycling bins for paper and mixed beverage containers both inside and outside the Library.

The Committee organized a campaign to approach sports groups who use the Town’s facilities (gyms and fields) to raise funds to purchase recycling bins for these areas.  Nineteen bins were purchased with funds donated by sports groups, school PTOs, and individuals.  The Committee sincerely thanks all donors and hopes that all town residents will use the recycling bins located at the fields, gyms, beach and downtown areas. to recycle mixed plastic, metal, and glass beverage containers.

In 2009, the Committee plans to focus on increasing communication and education to the wide range of Hingham residents about the cost savings for the town in continuing to increase our recycling rate and thus decreasing the amount the Town needs to pay for disposal of waste.  We also hope to increase information about cost effectiveness of finding ways to minimize waste (re-usable bags, re-usable water bottles, buying locally to reduce packaging, etc.).  We invite town residents who have ideas or information to share with us to contact us by coming to our monthly meetings or emailing us at: recycling@hingham-ma.gov.